• Bahrain Grand Prix

Bahrain will suit Mercedes - Rosberg

Nico Rosberg says getting the set-up right will be key for Mercedes if it wants to challenge for victory again © Press Association

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• Race:
• Bahrain Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Nico Rosberg
• |
• Michael Schumacher

• Teams:
• Mercedes

Nico Rosberg believes that the Bahrain International Circuit will suit Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

Fresh from his maiden grand prix victory in China, Rosberg heads to Bahrain confident of another strong performance. While the expected higher temperatures have led observers to dismiss chances of a repeat performance from Mercedes at Sakhir, Rosberg says the W03 will be strong and that controlling tyre wear will be the primary focus.

"I have really good memories of the Bahrain Circuit," Rosberg said. "I won the Formula 3 Macau-Bahrain Cup, GP2 Championship and finished seventh on my F1 debut with the fastest lap of the race. I like the track a lot. It's quite low downforce with lots of big stops and some faster corners too. The track layout definitely fits our car but it's really a big challenge for us to manage our tyre work well again and find the right set-up as the temperatures will be much higher than in China."

Despite being the only man to retire in China, Michael Schumacher said that the team was buoyant after Rosberg's win but warned the season was already becoming very unpredictable.

"Having experienced a race such as China gives everybody in the team a big push, and we certainly will give our optimum to repeat our performance in the next races," Schumacher said. "However, the season so far shows that you can never be sure of anything, and having had three winners in three races demonstrates how close together the teams are this year. But then again, it is good to see that we are more and more able to fight at the front, and we will certainly try to transfer our great pace from China onto Bahrain for the next race to come this weekend."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.